Facing Jerusalem

INTRODUCTION

Let’s be honest. As Bible believers, most of us would say we support Israel. We probably all want to visit the holy land at least once in our lives. We consider ourselves very far removed from anti-semitism or replacement theology.

However, how far are we willing to take our love for Israel? Should it be all consuming to our faith and lives? Isn’t it taking things a bit too far to allow Israel to be one of the main tenets of our faith?

Besides, there are a lot of really terrible things currently happening in the world. Even the US, long considered the superpower of the world, is experiencing major upheaval. Christians in other countries are experiencing horrific persecution. Millions of people are experiencing hunger, sickness, deprivation, and the basic provisions of normal life.

So even though we believe that Israel is important, aren’t there other things that deserve our attention more than the holy land right now?

What if I told you that many of the disasters that have happened in the US over the last 70 years were directly related to America’s treatment of Israel? What if I told you that every time the US Administration presented a plan that involved dividing the land of Israel, a natural disaster struck America within 24-48 hours?

What if the mass upheaval of 2020 in the US, including COVID-19 and the violence which swept across cities, are all connected to President Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan, one which calls for Israel to give away parts of its land?

When God first blessed Abraham in Genesis 12, he not only presented a covenant for the land and people of Israel, He initiated a plan for the salvation of the entire world. He told Abraham, “In you all families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3, NKJV) ALL families of the earth would be BLESSED through ABRAHAM! Did you catch that? The blessings that we experience in our life are channeled through that original blessing that God gave to a man 4,000 years ago.

I’d like for you to change your glasses through which you’ve been viewing Israel and the Jewish people for a moment. Instead of seeing it as “us and them,” think about it as a grand, master plan - a plan the Creator of the universe put together thousands of years ago to save a lost and broken world.

This book is not a deep theological work. Rather, it is a simple presentation from Zac Waller and myself of the incredible blessings to be experienced by aligning with the God, land, and people of Israel. By working in the land of Israel for the last fifteen years, we have experienced incredible physical and spiritual blessings from standing with God’s promises for Israel. We want to share those blessings with you.

When Solomon dedicated the first temple, he asked God to answer the prayers of foreigners who prayed towards Jerusalem, even if they were in a far country. You might write that prayer off as not being valid today, but we would like to present a different narrative. In this book, we will go through Solomon’s prayer as well as many other passages of Scripture to show that facing Jerusalem today is one of the most important actions that we can take in our Christian faith.

Instead of viewing it as one part of Christianity, or as a spiritual wand that we wave to lead us to prosperity, Israel should be a core principle of our faith. Following the prophets of old and the examples of Yeshua the Messiah Himself, facing Jerusalem and aligning ourselves with Zion is the catalyst that launches salvation to the rest of the world. Isaiah even prophesied that the law would go forth from Zion and God’s word from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)

God’s perfect plan of salvation for the world started with a blessing given to Abraham, on a hilltop in the land of Israel. It continued to be passed down from generation to generation, being validated time and time again. Yeshua our Messiah ultimately made the way for the rest of the world to become a part of God’s perfect plan of salvation, and through Him, we have been given the opportunity to walk in this blessing.

This is what I believe to be God’s master plan of redemption for the world.

Journey with us as we explore how facing Jerusalem is a pivotal part of our faith and crucial to physical and spiritual blessing in our lives. Could it be that this is God’s key to initiating redemption for the entire world?